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| Mealybugs have oval bodies with overlapping soft plates and a cottony white covering. They are related closely to scale insects, but do not attach to a plant and can moved around very slowly. They can stunt a plant or kill it by sucking its juices. They excrete a honeydew which can cause a black, sooty mold.
| | #REDIRECT [[Mealybug]] |
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| ==Control==
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| Note that mealybugs have a symbiotic relationship with [[ants]], which may need to be addressed to clear your mealybug infestation.
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| ===By hand===
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| Mealybugs are serious [[houseplant]] pests around the world, and outdoors they are troublesome pests wherever winters are mild. When you spot an infestation, indoor or out, you can just dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and dab the mealybugs directly with it by hand.
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| ===By hose===
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| You can hose off plants every 2 weeks with jets of water (or [[insecticidal soap]]) in order to blast away as many of the mealybugs and their eggs as possible, as well as the [[black soot]] which deters natural predators.
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| ===Natural predators===
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| [[Ladybugs]] (Ladybird beetles), [[cryptolaemus beetles]] and [[lacewings]] all are natural predators of mealybugs. They can be bought commercially and released to help control the population.
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| ===Chemical control===
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| Chemical pesticides known to be effective against mealybugs include malathion, diazinon, acephate, or [[horticultural oil]].
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| ==References==
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| *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608
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